Letters to the editor, Mar. 14

Forget the tax, just cut spending

After reading the piece on pied-à-terre taxes, I couldn’t help but wonder when I might read a story about State Senators, City Council members, or the mayor suggesting we actually cut back on certain types of expenses to help pay the bills that come due.

Rather we live in an era where spending more, increasing benefits paid for and entitlements is the annual plan and the solution is always another, or an increased, tax.

Slowly read the story about this proposed tax. It is a tax on people who “are not subject to city or state income taxes” because they are not permanent residents. They pay real estate taxes, maintenance of their homes, employ people and pay our generous sales taxes when they spend money here. But we want to tax them so we can have enough capital to offer early retirement at 50 percent of the final year’s wages to city employees.

How many readers have that deal – retire at 50, get one half of the last year’s wages forever and the opportunity, with 30 years of life expectancy, to get another job?

It would be amazing if our representatives stopped pandering (read the Amazon letter to the editor by State Budget Director Robert Mujica in the same issue) and did constructive things. How about cutting back on wasteful projects and negotiating better contracts and each time you save the city $100,000 million, you can then create a new tax.

If they did that, we would never have to worry about a fiscal crisis again.

Respectfully,

Peter Wunsch, Gramercy

Remembering the Hendrixes

Ever since I moved in this area, 1973, residents have always wished me and my family well. Thank you for devoting a full page to Stuy Town integrationists. It was years ago Lou Sepersky from Community Board Six shared documents detailing the fight against Metropolitan Life Company. The residents fought till victory was achieved.

Again, the article was outstanding and the illustration captured the gentle Hendrix family. I salute you!

About Town & Village

Town & Village is a print newspaper that has been serving the community since 1947, covering neighborhoods in the East Side of Manhattan, including Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Waterside Plaza, Gramercy Park, Union Square, East Midtown Plaza and Kips Bay.

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About us

Town & Village is a print newspaper that has been serving the community since 1947, covering neighborhoods in the East Side of Manhattan, including Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Waterside Plaza, Gramercy Park, Union Square, East Midtown Plaza and Kips Bay.